When is Oued Ed-Dahab Day?
Oued Ed-Dahab Day (Fête Oued Eddahab) is a national holiday in Morocco observed on August 14th each year.
Also known as Allegiance Day, this holiday commemorates the return of the Oued Ed-Dahab region to Morocco from Mauritania on this day in 1979
History of Oued Ed-Dahab Day
Oued Ed-Dahab is the most southerly of Morocco's 16 provinces. It lies in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which had been occupied by Spain since 1884. In 1975, the Madrid accords divided control of Western Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania.
On Monday August 14th 1979, 360 tribal leaders and clerics from Oued Ed-Dahab, visited Rabat, the Kingdom's capital to give the late King Hassan II their oath of allegiance. The oath was seen as a green light for Morocco to annex the region on behalf of the nation.
Despite the oath, the region of Western Sahara remains a disputed region with the United Nations and most countries not recognising Morocco's claim to sovereignty of the region.
